And all for a book (Greenie Field Trip)

Loraine checked the street as she walked towards the blue door she'd been eyeing throughout the afternoon. Kynwric walked a pace behind her and she drew as much confidence from him as she could, while dread built up in her gut. There was no sign that they'd given themselves away anywhere in the street as she scanned it. No one looked at them overlong or seemed to make an effort to avoid looking at them. The businesses that she'd expect to be closing were and the ones whose doors were open happened to be the ones people visit when the sun started sinking. This is going far too smoothly, she thought to herself as she curled her hand around the door handle. Then she cursed herself for an idiot and opened the door with a smooth motion that, she hoped, made it look like she had done it before and was expected to be there. By all accounts this building was vacant, though the door opened without so much as a token resistance. Not a squeak belied their presence and she took a deep breath as they passed through the threshold. No protective weaves and no hint that anyone inside could channel. It didn't make their safety a sure bet, but at least there wasn't anyone who could damage them without seeing them inside.

Ok, that was a lie, too, but it gave her a little bit of a relief as she made a cursory glance around the bottom floor. Their plan was simple. She and Kynwric came in the front door, drawing the attention if anyone was paying attention. Kathleen, Olmena and Arath would enter through the stable in the back, coming in through what should've been the servant's entrance in the kitchen. Rasheta and Visar were going to be coming in through the Garden entrance, which should be to the back and left of the entryway they were standing in. With any luck, they wouldn't be seen entering. Worst case scenario, if they were seen leaving, it would shock whoever was watching and give them time to get out. Loraine and Kynwric would stake out the book first. If anyone was waiting for them, they'd either get the book or make enough noise dying to alert Rasheta, the only other person on this trip who knew the whereabouts of the journal. Once they had the book, they'd all leave the way they'd come. The only thing that would change any of that was the house not to be as secure as it should be.

Loraine tried not to think about that last bit. With every step, she told herself that this was running smoothly because of good planning and good intelligence gathering. It was safe for them to be here. Her gut tightened more with each step, though, and she found herself searching all the harder for why. The rooms were empty, as if whoever lived here had vacated years ago and taken it all with them. She moved silently towards the staircase that led up to the bedrooms overhead, keeping her weight shifted so she didn't put too much pressure on aging wood and make it creak. It was handy to be as tiny as her genes demanded she be sometimes.

The stairs didn't make a sound and the wood underneath her didn't give a bit as she moved. She didn't even hear Kynwric's boots as he moved behind her. Still her eyes darted around, searching for some reason why her gut was screaming that this was not going well. She counted doors and stopped before the one that should have the journal hidden behind it. Her hand stretched towards the doorhandle, but hesitated before she touched it.

The hesitation couldn't have been longer than a breath, but her mind finally caught up with her gut and things flashed in her head. The door hadn't squeaked, even though the house had been vacant for a very long time. The floors downstairs didn't have a speck of dust on them. The stairs were strong and didn't have so much as a loose nail to squeak to give them away. The house made not a single noise as the sun set around them. No creaking walls as the day's heat left them, no popping floorboards as the wood holding them retracted for the day. "Kynwric..." she breathed, her eyes catching a flash over her right shoulder.

She knew, then, that her gut was right. This was not a safe place and she'd walked right into the trap they'd laid for them. Sound erupted around her as men stepped from doorways further down the hall and stepped free of the rooms on the bottom floor, too. Her hand closed around the door handle, swinging inward to find shelter from the attack. She lifted her hand to the ceiling overhead and threw a weave she'd been holding on to just in case her gut was right, blowing a whole in the roof and sending a shower of sparks overhead to alert the other two teams that there was danger. It wouldn't keep them out, but at least they'd be more prepared than she had been.

Loraine paused inside the door, hearing the first clang of swords behind her and feeling Kynwric slip into that odd state of calm that seemed to wash through her when he started swinging his sword. The sight that met her eyes did nothing to help that calm, however. A single man stood in the room, his back to her and his head bent forward. His cloak was as white as snow, standing out in the dusty room like a beacon. Every muscle in her body screamed for her to flee, but what was waiting on the other side of the door but more White Cloaks?
What was it about the set of his shoulders that put her teeth on edge?

“There’s no need to be quiet,” he said, turning slowly, but not taking his eyes off what was in his hand. Loraine forced her expression into smooth indifference as she realized he was holding the book she was after. As old as it was, she doubted if he could make heads or tails of it, but the little he could understand she couldn’t allow to leave this room. He lifted his eyes as if he could read her mind, as if he knew the conclusion she’d just drawn. “I believe you came for this?”

It would be foolish to deny what it was and what she was. The longer she stood here bantering with the man, the more Kynwric had to fight to cover her. “What good is a book to the Children?” she asked quietly, taking a few slow steps towards him. He hadn’t looked up, yet, and he probably believed it was annoying her. She was old enough to be his grandmother, though, and so refused to give in to his obvious manipulation. “Especially that one. You are in grave danger holding it in your hand. What will it take for us to part ways, I with my book and you with your life?”

He laughed, then, finally looking up at her. His eyes ran over her slowly, measuring her up. “You are a little small to be making such bold statements, aren’t you?” he asked, only confirming what she’d known already. He was very, very young. Only an untested fool would underestimate her just because she’s a woman, and a small one, at that.
She avoided responding to that, since he’d find out soon enough. It was sad that it wouldn’t be a lesson he could learn from early enough to do anything about. She sighed inwardly and took another step towards him. He was younger than her sons, for Light’s sake!

“I will give you one last warning. Hand over the book,” she said, her voice even and flat. It sounded foreign to her that way, but he’d never know the difference. Her mind began playing angles, finding weak spots and opportunities, playing out what would happen in the next few moments to find the option that gave her the best advantage and left him dead. Her oaths began tightening around her chest, making it difficult to breathe. She wasn’t fearing for her life, yet. Kynwric’s was in danger, but not from this man. Anything she did in this room would have to be by hand, unless he did something stupid.

He snapped the book shut and tossed it from hand to hand as if saying, ‘if you want it, come get it.’ She wasn’t getting suckered into that one, either. She twisted a weave and blew the book out of his hands, not even watching as it flew to the wall, bounced off and landed on the floor with a hard pop. She’d imagined this scenario correctly, at least, as that seemed to enrage him to the point that he rushed towards her. She had time to draw her sword free of its sheath and deflect the swing of his as it crashed down on her. He had brute strength on her, it was true, but he had no idea what she was capable of doing and seemed to honestly believe he had nothing to fear from her. His sword came down time and time again, with Loraine meeting each arc with a deflecting blow.
It was the crash underneath her that she wasn’t prepared for. She gasped as the very boards under her feet shifted, as if something struck the weak planks from the floor below. It caused her to lurch and while she tried to control that movement, she wasn’t as successful as she could’ve hoped. She gasped as her blade swung wide and left her side open for the dagger he’d held clutched in his hand. She twisted a weave, but wasn’t fast enough to stop the blade from piercing her side. She gasped for a moment, feeling a shock of fear lancing through her system. She felt her lips twitch at it, as the oaths that had nearly held her breathless before began loosening up. She was afraid for her life. It was all the opening she needed.

He had taken a step back when she started to smile, confusion knitting his brow together as he stumbled back over a broken floorboard. “It’s unfortunate that you didn’t learn anything from your reading,” she said quietly, pulling herself to her full height and dragging her sword beside her as she clutched her free hand around the blood-slicked dagger in her side. “I’m only sorry it’ll be the last mistake you make today.”

She twisted weaves together quickly. Air, Fire and Spirit folded around themselves to do what she bid them. The freedom of the fear coursing through her veins made the weaves a little loose, but she let them fly, anyway. Air Razors sliced through the tendons of his sword arm, rendering it useless. His heavy sword clattered to the floor. Since the dagger was still in her side, it left him without a blade to protect himself. She stepped within a few feet of him and swept his sword aside with a blast of Air. She ignored the fear in his eyes, knowing she had to kill him to protect the secrets he never should’ve been privy to. If only he’d left the book closed! She could’ve left him here, useless to the Children, but alive. Breathing and heading home to his family…

She flicked her eyes to the book near the wall and back at him, again. “You should’ve kept your nose out of my book,” she said sadly. He growled at her and lunged for her sword, but she danced out of his reach, swinging the sword at his battered body. He fell and she cursed inwardly as he came up with the sword in his free hand. She could tell it wasn’t his strongest, but only a fool would train someone to only use a single hand when fighting with a sword. Any trainer worth their salt would’ve made sure he was good enough to stay alive with his other hand. She nodded and shifting the sword in her hand, her other hand still clinging to the dagger in her side to keep it from moving too much. This was far from over and the sounds in the hallway behind her told her that Kynwric had his hands full.
He was going to rail at her for a month about this. She took a deep breath as the White Cloak lunged for her again, his snow-white cloak now sullied by dirt and blood as he stepped in swinging for her head. Threads of Air and Spirit pulled the sword out of its path and dropped it harmlessly on the other side of her shoulder. She lifted her sword and used a weave of Air to help force it through his breastplate as deeply as she could. The force of it drove her into him and she flinched as she felt his sword arm twisting. She threw her hand out, catching his wrist and pushing it further away. The action pressed the dagger deeper into her side and she bit her lip to keep the scream of pain from escaping. She felt him fall away and pushed backwards to gain her footing, her lips parting in pain as he dropped to the floor at her feet.
She turned, forcing herself to walk across the room for the book and clutching it in her blood soaked hands as she turned back for her sword. He was dead by the time she reached his side again and she pulled the sword free with a jerk. She did her best to ignore the pain and turned towards the door again, the book tucked under one arm, her sword clutched in the other hand and the dagger still buried in her side.

Her first job was to help Kynwric get them out of there. Her second was to hand this book to someone who was going to make it back to the Tower. Right then, she wasn’t sure she was on that list…

Olmena flinched at the wrenching of wood and the answering shower of sparks that erupted from the roof the house before her. They’d only just reached the stretch between the stable and the back door that would take them into the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder at her companions, Kathleen and Arath, knowing they’d understand that signal. The time for stealth was over. Time to get the book and get out was upon them.

“We’ll proceed through the kitchen as quietly as possible and try to sneak up on their flank. With any luck, Loraine and Kynwric are the only ones they know about,” she said, her voice devoid of emotion. She started twisting weaves as soon as saidar flowed through her and used one to muffle their steps as she opened the back door and slipped inside. There was no sign of anyone in the kitchen, so she moved to the hallway door and peered out cautiously both directions. One end of the hallway lead to a back parlor, the other to a nest full of bright white cloaks.

All with their backs to the kitchen.

Olmena smiled and waved her companions into the hallway with her fingers to her lips. Their steps still muffled they approached the men before them, Olmena holding her breath so tight her chest hurt. A creak over her head drew her attention to the stairs and she cursed as a man hanging over the railing called out to the others, alerting them to their presence.

“Well, there goes the silent approach,” she said to the others and turned to let one of the weaves, an Air Club, sail to the rail in front of the man overhead. The old wood shattered roughly, raining bits of fragmented wood down on them, but taking away the support the man was using to stay upright. She drew her sword free as he landed on the ground at her feet.~Olmena

Kynwric turned his back to Loraine as she went to open the door that led to the room they believed held the book, he felt the quick shiver of shock run up her spine but whatever it was she was going to have to deal with it, he had too many other things to pay attention to now.

Kynwric stood there in the hallway, he saw the four men coming up from in front of him and assumed that there would be more coming from behind. Fortunately these Whitecloaks seemed even stupider than the run of the mill ones he usually dealt with and they all four charged straight away. Turning to face them he sly his hand on the hilt of his sword, he could here Loraine bantering just barely, he could also feel the tension in her, but she wasn’t in mortal danger yet. He let the four men in their snow white cloaks come, 5 paces, then 3 and at that moment he snapped his sword out of his scabbard in a abbreviated version of unfolding the fan, letting the point take the lead man in the throat. From there it was a quick jump to the left and back handing the next man in line across the face dropping him as well, although it seemed unlikely he was down permanently unless Kyn had been luckier than he though. The sudden loss of half their numerical superiority and the ease with which they’d been dispatched made the other two Whitecloaks skid to stop and back up a few steps. Obviously they had been unprepared to face a fully trained Warder in this encounter, which boded well for Loraine inside the room. Of course it was then he felt the sharp stab through his side, his eyes narrowed in response to the pain and his body shifted slightly. It wasn’t much of a reaction, but it betrayed a distraction in him as his eyes flicked to the doorway where Loraine had entered and then back to the pair of men facing him.

“Go. Run home to your mothers Children. You don’t need to die here today.” The Whitecloaks glanced at each other before the older one, which wasn’t saying much, said “We’ll see you and your Witch dead.” And they began a more measured approach to the fight. Kyn knew he needed to now finish them quickly, to get inside that room where Lor had been injured and so he took two quick strides past the now dead or unconscious men and began to weave his sword in front of him to deliver these two men to the fate they had chosen.

Fighting a pair was difficult, particularly when they worked together. This pair had obviously trained together for a while as they tried to work a way to make Kyn open his defenses for the other, it took time and little nicks here and there on all three men but his own training and experience finally left the man to Kyn’s left open while the other recovered from too wide a swing. Kyn didn’t let the opportunity pass, slipping his sword in to bind the Whitecloak’s weapon and driving his plated elbow into the man’s face. He heard the crunch of a nose breaking and Kyn was quickly darting back away, he hadn’t had enough time for that really and he felt the bite of a sword into his side, fortunately the mail held mostly and it was a small gash nearly in the same spot he had felt the stab of pain from Loraine. Kyn jumped back even further and then turned his feral smile on the Whitecloak, “It is not your day Child, perhaps you should return to Pedron Niall and ask for your toys back?”

That produced a snarl from the Whitecloak, but did not provoke an attack. Which was unfortunate in Kyns predicament, he wanted this fight over with. He began to back his way to the doorway where Loraine had entered and took a glance inside, at the same time he felt the jolt of pain surge through his side and knew that they had to leave, book or no book. There were still no footsteps coming from behind, which was both odd and comforting. He knew there had to be some soon. When he glanced into the room he saw the tstate of Loriane and the WHitecloak who had obviously been waiting for her to enter. He had been a young man too, and obviously had no idea how to fight a Sister. This likely meant they hadn’t known she was Aes Sedai, another bonus in their favor at least if he could kill this last man. Then he heard them, boots on the stairs and he gave one last lunge at his adversary before darting inside the room and slamming the door shut. He grabbed the first thing he could find and threw it in front of the door, barring it for a short time.

“Make us a hole love, it’s time to go.” He pointed to the wall with the window in it. He knew it was a fall, but he had little other choice at this point and if he remembered right it wasn’t a long fall.

Bonded to the Loraine.Raijin: "If Lor's an Act of God then Kyn's the Devastation that follows"

She felt the pain coming from him and narrowed the pain down to his side, nearly on top of the blade still standing out of her side. It had been somewhat masked by her own pain. She felt her lips twitch and shook her head at him. "You should get your own scars," she said.

Loraine flicked her eyes at the door as it bowed in under the weight of someone on the outside and then away to the window Kynwric waved at. This room was on the second floor and if she remembered the layout of the house correctly, there wasn't anything underneath the window. It should've dropped into the space between the stable and the house. She shifted her hand and stiffened in pain. "I can't make that drop, Kynwric," she said quietly. She turned to the door again. "I could blow the door out and that would get rid of whoever is fighting to get in. Do you have any idea how many others are on the other side of the door?"

She didn't dare move until she had to, especially if they were going to have to fight their way out of the building. "We'll never outrun them like this, either. This book can't fall into their hands." She closed her eyes and leaned on the wall behind her for a moment. "Olmena," she said without opening her eyes. Her mind started forming a plan, one that started with getting them out of here and ended with them creating a diversion to get the others out. "The window it is," she said, pushing away from the wall. "They should've come in the back door and this room should be right on top of them. With any luck, if they've gone inside already, they won't be far enough not to get out quickly."

She took a deep breath and twisted Fire and Spirit with Air, then hurled it at the window, blowing the glass out into the open space below. She twisted another weave of Air as that weave dissipated and waved Kynwric towards the window. "I've got a weave outside the window, but it won't be very large. I'll lower us to the ground below and hopefully we can get the other's attention..."

As far as plans went, Arath didn't really care for this one. A staggered entry, divided force ... he couldn't really say he was disappointed, or surprised for that matter, when the whole thing fell apart. The crash from the roof and the shower of sparks brought the faintest of smiles to his face as he followed Olmena into the house. This was his moment to shine.

Goosebumps rippled across his skin as a Whitecloak came crashing through the railing. Before he even hit the floor, Arath reached out with Saidin. Multiple weaves snaked out and slammed into the turning Whitecloaks, slamming them into the walls and each other. In the space of a few heart beats they were all down, either unconscious or doubled up in pain. He turned back to see Olmena still standing over the first man, he sword drawn. He glanced down at the blade, then back to the Aes Sedai. "Really? Outnumbered in these close quarters and you're going to use steel?"

Rolling his eyes at the Aes Sedai foolishness, Arath wove a pair of fiery blades into his hands, far superior to anything made of metal. Provided you didn't mind advertising what you were that is. Which Arath didn't. Waving one of his blades toward the pile of fallen Whitecloaks. "So which way to this book of yours?"

Results may vary. Do not use Saidin while in a 'normal' state. If you experience nausea, vomiting, dementia, hallucinations,schizophrenia, necrosis, or spontaneous loss of limb, this is normal and should be ignored. Rules and Restrictions may apply. See staff for details.

"I've got plenty of my own scars, some of which you've given me." He said, moving something else in front of the door. When She had made them a hole and a platform of some sort he followed her out of the house. "No idea, I've put down 4, 3 permanently. Yours looked pretty dead too." He glanced at hr hands which were clutching th book they had been after. "You've got the book, it is time to go. The sooner the better... and we need to get you Healed." He watched as she slowly lowered them to the ground and as soon as they were in safe leaping distance he didn't wait for the platform anymore, leaping onto the dusty ground and was about to head off when he registered the name she had said upstairs. "Where to? Not back inside, the book needs to be gotten away."

Bonded to the Loraine.Raijin: "If Lor's an Act of God then Kyn's the Devastation that follows"

Kathleen stood watch in the window of her room until she saw Loraine take to the street. Nothing unusual or expected had occurred in the whole time they had been there. She felt uneasy about that, but passed it off. Part of her knew that their group stood out, but they had taken many precautions to avoid standing out, perhaps she was over estimating the situation? Whether she was or not would not change things now, so when she saw Lor on the street Kathleen left the rooms and made her way in a sweeping circle to the stable entrance of the little building, just as the plan called for.

As she drew in closer to the building she met up with Olmena and Arath, trying to find the proper mix of calm, casual and still get in place ready to follow the plan. So far so good. The words just barely ran her mind before the roof erupted. She fought down the yelp forming in her throat, but her eyes sprang wide as she grabbed hold of Saidar. Bloody flaming fright! The though screamed through but she noticed the glow spring up around her Sister and she didn't feel as bad reaching for Saidar. She was sure the other woman had done it on a calculated reaction to the situation, and not because of the sudden terror running through her, but either way, they both held the power, and she was almost certain that their companion did to. So much for it all going to plan. Thank the Light they trained me on the way here. She realized Olmena was talking and she cleared her thoughts to gather the plan.

Kathleen waited for the signals and followed the experienced Green into the fight. They kept slow, and with the helpful weave, silent and just when Kathleen thought they were going to pull it off she followed Olmena's head up to the flight of stairs above. When she saw the man in the cloak hanging over the side everything about her froze. In and instant she was trasported back to the last time she was face to face with Whitecloaks. Her heart pounded and her muscles tensed, refusing to move. She saw the wood splinter from the banistar above but couldn't do a thing but stare as the Child came hurdling down toward her. He landed at her feet and the sound of Olmena brandishing her sword was enough to bring her back.

That is when she noticed the rest of the White Cloaks around her laying unconscious on the floor. She shot the Ashaman a look somewhere between shock and gratitude. When the swords of fire flashed to his hands the gratitude was over powered by the shock and she stood staring at him just for a brief moment. "Where's the book?" She repeated after him, stunned at the amount of sarcasm that flowed out of her. She was overwhelmed and didn't fight it off,"I would think there's a good chance it's somewhere close to all that commotion upstairs!" Just then she heard the glass blow out from a room above them. "Either that, or its now out there. But that could just as likely be a Whitecloak." Kathleen didn't wait for a reply as she headed for the stair case.

Loraine looked back at the doorway leading to the kitchen, hearing noise close enough to the entrance that it wasn't caused by anyone further up the stairs. She cursed and moved towards the door, not waiting for Kynwric to follow. Her side hurt twice over and she knew the pair of them were in no condition to fight. It didn't mean they were going to be given a choice about it, though. The joy of being Green, she thought as she passed inside the building again.

She didn't have long to size up the situation, though she was still pretty glad that a large number of White Cloaks were still battering on the door Kynwric had disappeared through earlier. Olmena was shooting daggers at Arath's back while gripping her sword and hurling large balls of Air across the small entryway, Arath was waving flames around in his hands and Kathleen seemed to have placed herself as the block between the White Cloaks upstairs and those downstairs. She wondered idly if the girl had done it on purpose or if she just found herself there. Either way, with a bit more training, that girl would make a formidable Green. Loraine's lips twitched a moment, at that. As long as they'd live long enough to get back to the Tower, anyway.

She caught Olmena's eyes and flashed the book at her, letting her know she'd gotten it. A man stepped between them and Loraine gritted her teeth. She twisted a nasty blast of Air and Spirit, perfect for close range fighting and hurled it at him, blowing him through an interior wall and out of the way. She knew Kynwric was cursing in her head, but there was nothing for it. She was far too injured for a weapon, could feel the weakness of blood loss in her limbs already. She stepped closer to Olmena and pressed the book into her hands. "Get it out home, Sister. You're our best shot at getting this book where it needs to be, now," she said quietly, half pushing the woman to the door. She turned and lifted her hand, a sure sign her energy was flagging to anyone who knew her. She had no need of a focus and usually didn't bother with dramatic hand waving. The movement helped her when she was dangling on the edge of being useless, though. The weave that left her fingers streaked across the lower floor, finding bodies and dropping them with a hiss. She'd figured that weave out on her own and it was an ugly little thing, full of Spirit and Fire. If she was at her best, that weave would kill whoever it touched. As tired and light-headed as she was, she'd be lucky if it bought them more than fifteen minutes. When those men woke up, they'd be very, very angry.

"Go!" She shouted over her shoulder at Olmena, sending a meaningful glance at Arath and Kathleen. "I've got your back, but you've got get out of here before those men get up." She threw another weave over Kathleen's shoulder as Kynwric moved to defend where the girl was standing. She prayed they moved swiftly as a man not far from her began to stir. Perhaps fifteen minutes was asking too much??

Olmena bit off every retort she felt burning to get out of her mouth at Arath's arrogant answer. Naturally, he'd just create a blade of fire and wade in slashing and hacking. She, however, didn't feel her life was in danger, and thus, didn't have that luxury. "It might be different if I charged the enemy like a bull, however," she muttered, turning and tossing a ball of Air and Spirit at an approaching White Cloak. As she turned back, she laughed inwardly at Kathleen's sarcasm, wishing she could release more of her own.

She caught Loraine's eye a split second before the woman was pushing the answer to Arath's question into her hands. She stared at it dumbly for a moment before she connected the blood covering the cover to the woman in front of her. Loraine's dress was streaked with it, but the blade still standing out of her side told her where the bulk of the cover's soiling had come from. She opened her mouth and reached for the Sister, but Loraine pushed her away. "Get it out home, Sister. You're our best shot at getting this book where it needs to be, now," she said, her voice barely over a whisper. Olmena nodded numbly, turning to Kathleen and Arath as she tucked the book away. Loraine was yelling at them to go, which drew the attention of the White Cloaks that had been distracting themselves by banging on the door overhead. They figured out that Kynwric and Loraine weren't up there any longer when Kynwric moved to cover Kathleen. Olmena cursed, seeing blood from his side, too. These two would be lucky to make it out of here today, and Olmena sent up a quick prayer to the Creator to see that they at least got out of Amadacia before they bled to death. Normally, she'd wish for the opposite. There's not much worse than bleeding to death. There wouldn't be anything left to find of them if they didn't at least get across the border, though. From the amount of blood on their clothes, that might be asking too much, though.

She turned on her heel, hoping the others were following and hurried out the front door, which now stood unguarded. She blew it off the hinges and ran through, the book tucked safely out of sight and her sword still free, just in case anyone had any ideas about attacking them when they got outside.

~Olmena*baby is crying, so I have to run. I'll add more later if no one else has posted, otherwise, our goal is to get out of the house and to the gates, where there will be 6-8 White Cloaks guarding the gate. Get there and we'll be good! :)

Arath had had enough of this nonsense. Playing by Aes Sedai rules, following their orders and fool plan ... he was through with it. He was doing things his own way now. And he started with dealing with the injured party members. Weaves of air snaked out and snagged both the Aes Sedai and her Warder, pulling them out of harms way and pushing them toward the doorway. Ignoring their protests, Arath shouted at the pair, "Get out. You can't do any more good here. I'll handle this."

He turned his attention away from his companions as Whitecloaks began to flood the room. Some of them looked injured, but others were fresh. And they all looked more than a little angry. That was fine with the Asha'man though ... he was feeling a little anger himself. It bubbled around the edges of the void, making it's presence known while he ignored it entirely. Fists of air reached out and pummeled the first of the whitecloaks, sending him hurtling back into his companions while Arath prepared another weave. A sheath of fire and air wrapped around him, encasing him in a bubble of flames.

The next few whitecloaks entered the room and stopped dead in their tracks. They were trained to fight darkfriends, and other 'normal' enemies. They were even taught how to attack Aes Sedai. That training did not prepare them for an Asha'man. They knew that Aes Sedai had to play by certain rules. An Aes Sedai wouldn't outright kill you unless she felt you to be a true threat. How were they supposed to react to the man who appeared to be on fire, smiling at them with murder in his eyes?

They weren't given a chance to answer that question. Even as their comrades entered the room and pushed them forward, the first of the Children of the Light were in a panic, trying to escape. Too little too late. With a shout, Arath pushed on the bubble. The wave of flame expanded outwards, flowing over the unfortunate men, through the doors, and down the hallways. Men screamed in pain as the fires seared them, unnaturally hot and very deadly.

The wave lasted only a couple of seconds before Arath released it. The fiery bubble coalesced around him again, a convenient shield to scare away any newcomers. Glancing around at the burning kitchen, Arath wove fire in thick ropes, drawing the heat from the flames and passing it into the foundation stones of the house. The fires died down immediately, leaving nothing but smoke fumes and char marks in their wake. Screams of pain sounded from the hallways ... he doubted anyone else would be coming from that direction. There were still sounds of movement coming from above though. Glancing up at the broken balcony, he noticed a lack of fire damage. Apparently his flame nova hadn't traveled upward very well. That was easy to fix as well. A pair of fireballs sprang into his hands, A helmeted head had just appeared as he launched his missiles upward. A pair of explosions rocked the house and showered the Asha'man with debris which he deflected with a hasty air barrier. There were no new screams. Whoever had been upstairs had not likely survived a direct hit like that.

Stalking forward, Arath prepared a pair of air weaves, a club and a razor. He moved forward, cutting throats of whitecloaks that were too injured to ever recover from their wounds. A small mercy ... though he doubted their brothers, or the Aes Sedai for that matter, would see it as such. The others he cracked over the head with the club, ensuring that they wouldn't cause trouble for a while. He would clear out the house, then he would catch up to the others. Light send they didn't run into any more trouble without him.

Edited by Arath Faringal, 07 May 2012 - 02:03 PM.

Results may vary. Do not use Saidin while in a 'normal' state. If you experience nausea, vomiting, dementia, hallucinations,schizophrenia, necrosis, or spontaneous loss of limb, this is normal and should be ignored. Rules and Restrictions may apply. See staff for details.

Loraine gasped as she was pushed out of the way, irritation warring with pain as she found herself on the outside of the doorway. She eyed the Ashaman before her, then the pair of Aes Sedai heading for the smaller gate on the other side of town. She muttered a curse, then turned away. The best thing she could do was get as far away from here as possible. She turned to the much larger gate and the people who seemed to be running in each direction around the town. If she could draw people that direction, maybe they wouldn’t notice the two women heading the other direction.

A movement to her left drew her eyes to the cobbler, who was trying hard to close the shutters before she saw him. “If I survive this, there will be a recompense,” she muttered. A quick twist of her wrist blew the shutters in and she stopped to glare at him. “I will be back,” she said softly. “Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but I will be back and you will answer for this.” She laid her bloody hand against the frame of the window, twisting a weave of Keeping over it so he’d never forget her promise.

With that she turned to find Kynwric, so they could make the biggest exit possible as injured as they were.

Kathleen guarded the stairs, taking turns directing her attention to the White Cloaks below and then above her. She guarded Olmena and Loraine as came together for the brief moment that Kathleen thought out the switch. So we have the book. At least something is still going to plan! She spied the wound in Loraine's side and wished she could reach out to heal it for the woman, but she had to concentrate on making a clear path for everyone to exit, and keep the few White Cloaks who were still alive, and not held up by the warder and ashaman, from reaching her sisters. It was too much for her to handle a new healing weave on top of the defence she was already splitting between floors, and she doubted Lor would stay still long enough for her to do a proper healing. Finish the mission, then heal the survivors. She knew it made sense and she knew she had to focus on the mission of getting the book back to safety. What is the good of a healed side if they all died on the way out of town?

She saw Olmena retreat after the quick exchange with Lor and before she could register the order to go Kathleen was on Olmena's heels. That book was the mission. Not destroying the White Cloaks, or protecting her wounded sister. She would guard who ever had that book until they were back in the Tower. They weren't far out of the building when Kathleen noticed she and Olmena were the only ones out. Part of her wanted to run back and help the members of the party she could only assume were trapped, but she saw the streets filling with people running in every direction and knew that she couldn't leave Olmena to get to the border on her own.

Most civilians ran to hide from the sudden terror, but others seemed to be coming for the woman, clearly trying to apprehend them to help the Whitecloaks save their streets. She could hear the Children coming through the crowd toward the building that was now going up in flames behind them. Kathleen tried to slow as she mixed with the civilians and blend so the whitecloaks wouldn't pick her and her compainion out as quickly, but no matter how much they tried it was clear they were the cause of the problem and the people in streets had little trouble pointing then out.

It wasn't long before Kathleen was aware of the not too distant circle of Children working to close themselves in around her. She cursed as she looked through the crowd and wondered how to best get Olmena to the border, shake the Children off them and not harm the remaining townsfolk in between them. She could only hope that the rest of her party made it out of the burning building and were following after them thinking about ways to shake the whitecloaks too. Run. Run to the border, do nothing else but run unless Olmena gets hit, or those Cloaks get to close.

KathleenInitiate of the Green AjahOh, the newbie is the buffer eh? Anyone want coffee while I'm at it?

Olmena cursed, not bothering to hide her irritation as the townspeople began closing around them. She had the book clutched tightly against her chest, trying to ignore the blood Loraine had left on her hand and the book. Time was not their friend today and a quick binding weave hadn't been in the cards. She prayed silently that Loraine made it back to the Tower, but didn't have time to do more than that. The gate loomed ahead of them, but she slowed with Kathleen to try to blend in with the others. It didn't take long for it to be rather obvious that that wasn't going to happen,

She glanced around, searching for a way out and pinpointing the biggest threats. As a set of bright white cloaks came into view, she shifted towards them, though she didn't stop looking behind her. She'd learned long ago that the townspeople could be just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than the armed men ahead of her. She was running out of options, fast. Arath was supposed to have been with them, but he'd never made it out of the building. She could only assume it was just her and Kathleen she had to get out. The poor girl was fresh out of her Oath ceremonies and being dragged all over the world...

Olmena glanced at Kathleen out of the corner of her eye to make sure she was holding together in the face of what was obviously not going to be an easy fight to the gate. "We only have one shot at this," she whispered to her Sister quietly. "We can't afford to kill too many of them, as that takes a lot of time. We're going to have to outrun them and create a diversion big enough to draw them away."

She cast glances around and set her sites on a large stack of barrels alongside the tavern on the edge of town. She twisted a quick weave together and wrapped it around the barrels, filled with just enough Air and Fire to dry out whatever was inside. She needed it good and dry so it would burn. She took her time, watching the White Cloaks advance closer to them and drawing near enough to the barrels to be blown out of the way when she lit them up. She pressed Air into the barrels, glad they were airtight along the sides and not much air was escaping. Hopefully, there would be enough pressure built up inside that the sudden release would send the air out in a blast. She took a deep breath as the White Cloaks came close to the spot she was aiming for. "When I say go, I want you to put a bubble of Air around yourself and run like the Dark One's on your tail towards that gate. So far, it's still open. I'll be right behind you." She turned and pressed the book into Kathleen's hands. "I don't care who you have to plow through, little Green. Get this into Jaydena's hands or we are all done for."

She took a deep breath, seeing the White Cloaks hit the mark she'd been aiming for. "GO!" She yelled, throwing up a bubble thick enough to deflect a blade and turned to run for the gate, only barely noticing when the bubble knocked someone over.

She ran behind Olmena, ever scanning the faces of the people near them for danger, ready to do something if she was needed to. She wasn't sure what something she would be ready with, but she was on alert to do something.

It seemed that the more experienced Green had a better plan than her own plan to outrun the trouble. Kathleen felt foolish for having not thought of more herself when the woman shared the plan she had. In the time the other woman had assessed the surroundings, planned a way to make a distraction and still get out ahead of everyone, all Kathleen had come up with was run.

Kathleen tried to keep the heavy breaths beating at her chest quiet enough to hear over as she listened to the new plan. Before the whole idea had sunk in she felt the journal being pressed into her chest. Before she could think she gripped the book firmly and searched the other woman's face without thinking to hide her fear. What is this? Why are you giving me the book? I'm only an Initate, I shouldn't even know this thing exists! You can't be giving this to me! I don't know how to protect it! The thoughts blocked up her mind and she didn't notice herself nodding agreement to the plan.

She only just recongnized the woman's command when she yelled "Go". In reflex of following Aes Sedai orders for years she managed to pull the shield of air around herself before she even realized what she was doing. She saw the barrels explode in all directions and the sound of the explosion startling her muscles into motion was all that stopped her from freezing on the spot.

She ran. Faster than she ever thought she could, and though she knew her lungs were burning from it she couldn't do anything but keep going. Quick thoughts flickered through her mind - Where are the others? Behind me! They are there. They have to be. She couldn't think of anything other than outrunning the blast and getting that book out of there. How did I end up with this? She forced the thoughts about all that had gone wrong and how there was a very real chance that she was the only one left from her party out of her mind and forced herself to focus on moving forward.

The explosion would distract them, but not for long. Even if they others were running behind her, as they should have been, as she needed to believe they were, she had the book. She couldn't stop to check on them, she couldn't take the time to worry about how she got it. There was no time to think about why she was the one with the thing that the most important members of the ajah had been sent to retreive. I shouldn't even know this thing exists, and here I am running out of a village that is going up in flames behind me, with the Creator only knows how many White Cloaks after me. She had to get out of there. She had to get past that gate, and then find a place to hide. She would need to rest, but they wouldn't stop chasing her just because she crossed the gate.

She couldn't run to Tar Valon non stop, but she couldn't think of stopping until she had at least left the sight of the White Cloaks. She knew that there so many things she should be thinking about, the best way to get to the gate, how to make it through, where to go when she got to the other side, how to leave hints for the others on where she went so that just in case they were behind her they could find her again. She knew she should have been thinking it all out but all she could think was RUN and with the book pinned to her side that is all she could do.

Kathleen VandiarInitiate of the Green AjahRunning Away - way to join the Ajah.

Kyn could feel the double pain of his own sword wound and Loraine's as he limped down the street towards the horses that had been left there. They were obviously Children's mounts and he assumed at least one was from that officer he'd faced earlier, when he went to reach for the reins some fresh-faced boy in a white cloak came around from the other side with a sword leveled at Kyn's chest and brought him up short. "Stop Darkf..." was all he got pout before Kyn rolled his eyes and in one deft motion sidestepped the sword thrust that came and took the blade away. Simultaneously he punched the boy in the face with the heel of his hand, drivign the nasal of his helmet back into his nose. he watched as the boy fell in a heap,

Kyn just left him lying there, gathering the reins of a pair of horses, the two best he found on first glance and readied them quickly. He could feel Loraine approaching. He walked back around to find her standing there and with an effort that opened the wound in his side a bit more deposited her on the back of the white and grey dapple that he figured was the Officer's. Once she was settled safely in the saddle and reins in hand Kyn swung himself up onto the back of the black with an audible gasp. "Ride wife... now," he said, his voice pained and he waited til she had kicked her horse into motion before setting his own mount into motion. There was a reason he never became attached to his mounts, or even really named them, he always seemed to be leaving them behind in odd places.

Kyn hoped they were providing enough of a distraction for Olmena, Kathleen and Arath to get out of town, otherwise this entire mission would be for naught as the book would fall into the Children's hands. When he hazarded a look over his shoulder he saw the crowd of townsfolk closing around the pair of Aes Sedai with no Arath to be seen. There was nothing more either he or Lor could do now though, nothing except ride and trust that they'd figure a way free.

Bonded to the Loraine.Raijin: "If Lor's an Act of God then Kyn's the Devastation that follows"

It didn't take long to incapacitate the whitecloaks in the house, but by the time he was done everyone else had disappeared down the city streets. He hesitated for a moment. He was supposed to go with Olmena and Kathleen, but in all honesty it was Loraine and her warder that needed the most help. Still ... he had already defied Loraines orders enough as it was by staying to deal with the whitecloaks here. If something were to happen to the other two Aes Sedai there would be trouble. Hoping that Loraine had the good sense to avoid trouble, Arath siezed Saidin again and wove spirit. Thick strands quickly coalesced into the form of a gateway, the silvery flash of non-light twisting open to reveal a stand of trees a short distance from the main gate.

Dashing through the gateway, he glanced around quickly to see if the others had made it yet. It took him a moment, but eventually he spied Kathleen running away from the gate, hugging something close to her chest. Olmena was nowhere to be seen, though there was a sizeable commotion being raised in the town. If that was Olmena, she was certainly making a scene. He considered taking off after Kathleen, or even Traveling in front of her, but the road seemed clear ahead and nobody was in immediate pursuit of her. She would be fine on her own for a while. Taking off toward the gates, Arath let Saidin surge within him. There would be more killing before this was done.

Results may vary. Do not use Saidin while in a 'normal' state. If you experience nausea, vomiting, dementia, hallucinations,schizophrenia, necrosis, or spontaneous loss of limb, this is normal and should be ignored. Rules and Restrictions may apply. See staff for details.